Which access course and should I retake GCSE?

Hi All,

So i'm new to these forums and i'm looking into various routes into studying at uni.

Due to a life experience, I'm very much interested in studying Psychology at university with a view to either becoming a clinical psychologist or counselling psychologist.

I really don't know whether to take the patient approach and resit my GCSEs first as I got REALLY bad GCSE grades at school in comparison to some of the younger students on these forums. I just about scraped a C grade in 4 subjects - English, Maths, English Literature and Science (I did additional science but got a D). I want to open up more doors for myself as I want as good a university as I can get - Some prefer B grades in Maths and English.

The plan is to go on and do either a humanities and social science access course which has elements of history, sociology, psychology and English literature at level 3 or go on to to the access to health sciences. Although the health science access course is primarily aimed at students wanting to go on and study midwifery/nursing...etc, it is split into 2 main subjects - Human Biology and Psychology. A few universities I've spoken to would love a science subject in addition to the psychology but some are really flexible with the access course.

My first question would be which access course should I take?

The second question is, do you all think I should retake Maths and English GCSEs to get them up to a B or higher? I was debating whether to also do a Biology GCSE as there are biological aspects to most psychology degrees and I was thinking of doing GCSE psychology and sociology just to strengthen my application.

Sorry for the essay - Thank you in advance

No need to even retake them lol. If you absolutely do need a science then just retake a science, not all your GCSEs. You can do this whilst you're doing the access course, they won't mind. I did this with maths, got an E.

Few universities, even among the RG and similar, require more than a pass in GCSE Maths and English, if the course is not specifically numerate (or medicine). I wouldn't worry about it - if you didn't have the necessary passes it would be worth it but you've achieved that so on paper you're fine. You may find it useful to review some of the GCSE maths content, in particular statistics and graphs, if you want to pursue Psychology, as it will be helpful to have had a bit of a refresher for those areas.

Did you end up at uni in the end then? What did you study?

No unfortunately I dropped out about 6 months in. It was a humanities access course and it was really interesting and a good experience. I just have serious issues I need to sort out before trying anything long term haha. Doing Open University now as a gateway to brick uni (you can use OU as entrance to a proper uni) while I sort my issues out so that's good. :-) Oh I got in all of my Unis, some Russell groups so don't worry about Access credibility haha.

Your exam for GCSE can just be done after the time you've made your UCAS app.

I suppose i'm just getting too caught up with what younger students fresh out of school got at GCSE when it's a different ball game it seems for a mature student - life experience, maturity, giving up a full time job...etc. I did have a thought - I suppose the access course would take precedence over any GCSEs anyway, so doing a psychology GCSE (which is still a level 2 qualification whatever grade i got) would be pointless if I studied psychology modules at level 3 in the access course and got distinction. I'm sure if I perform strongly in the access course itself, it might open up more doors for me anyway - would you agree with that?

What is it you're hoping to do?

Most universities and courses don't even put much stock into GCSEs at all for school leavers themselves, and it's even less important to them for mature students. They much prefer seeing academic progression, and how you are performing academically currently in relevant courses at the appropriate level. So you're right, your access course is likely to be the primary metric the consider in your application, and a token GCSE in the subject won't matter - particularly as you'll cover similar or identical content in your access course at a higher level

Im going to disagree with what has been said, and suggest retaking GCSEs.

Having just gone through a full round of grad job applications, you will be asked your GCSE results almost every time. Ive experienced a few rejections (possibly) due to not meeting GCSE requirements, even though I exceed all the requirements else where. You might also want to check out this thread - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4832706

When it comes to the jobs market, its very competitive. Its easy to think 'well I've got a degree so I'm just as qualified as everyone else'. But when it comes down to it, HR teams have to make a decision. Yes you may have a degree, but so does everyone else applying. But they have A-Levels (which are seemingly preferred to Access by employers). And they also have GCSEs. In the early rounds when its all about cutting numbers, you can see why having no GCSEs would be an issue.

I don't know if you've looked in to what it takes to become a clinical psychologist. Its tough. I have a friend currently studying for a doctorate of clinical psychology. She has excellent GCSEs, A-Levels, first class undergrad in psychology, masters in neuroscience, relevant experience in the field and it still took her 3 rounds of applications to get a place on the doctorate. Thats not uncommon. You have a very long road if thats the route you would want to take, and it would be terrible to get so close and then regret not having done some GCSEs and that hold you back.

As for which course to choose, youre probably best off contacting some of the admissions tutors for the course and unis that you might want to go to. Normally you can find their email address online. They will have some idea of what is more appropriate and you can guide your decision based on what they say is preferable.

C in English C in Maths is all you need. He'll have a degree, do you really think they'll care for GCSEs?

Yes I do.

I don't, I REALLY don't. He's a mature student, GCSE's are irrelevant LOL.
Besides, he can always take them far into the future when he wants employment, doesn't have to be done now.

I won't be retaking mine, there is seriously no basis for what you're saying, it's absurd.

Can you outline where youre at in your education/applying for jobs?

Can you give sources for anything you're saying? I'm a Jobseeker, I do jobseeking for a bloody living. Never have I seen GCSEs being anything of an issue.

Again, C in English C in Maths and you're sorted.

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/careers/articles/academic-requirements.html

First company I checked. Extensive list of positions that you can only apply to with a grade B in GCSE maths and English.

Which graduate level jobs have you applied for? Which companies didn't care about your GCSEs?

I also think youre missing the point slightly. Can you apply for a lot of jobs with GCSE maths and english at C? Yes. Does that give you the best opportunity to secure that job? No. The point I attempted to make was that its a very long process, and your academic background will be considered in its entirety. Having a degree is required, but youre competing against people who also have degrees, as well as a levels and GCSEs.

You're not being relevant or helpful. OP doesn't need GCSEs in the present. And also, you don't know that. Perhaps he'll get a pass in certain situations of employment due to circumstance. This is something to deal with around the time. Not all employers will want GCSEs LOL.